A clandestinely recorded conversation has exposed what critics are calling proof of French coordination in Gabon’s August 2023 military coup, with the country’s current leader admitting the takeover was staged to prevent a genuine revolutionary uprising.
In the explosive recording obtained by Noureddin Bongo, son of ousted president Ali Bongo, coup leader and current president Brice Oligui Nguema describes the military takeover as a “mere family affair” orchestrated in close coordination with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The recording, made after Noureddin Bongo’s release in May 2025 following 20 months of detention, captures Nguema reassuring the younger Bongo that the coup was designed to protect both the Bongo family dynasty and French interests in the resource-rich Central African nation.
According to the recording, Nguema told Bongo that the carefully managed coup was necessary to ensure “another” officer did not seize power and cause a “catastrophe” — an apparent reference to the anti-French military takeovers that swept neighbouring countries.
Nguema, who is himself a cousin of Ali Bongo, allegedly assured Noureddin that his father and family were being treated well, and appealed to him to abandon any plans for revenge against the new government.
The revelation adds a dramatic dimension to Macron’s recent visit to Libreville on November 23, 2025, where he was welcomed with military honours and described France and Gabon as “friendly nations”, while Nguema called them “brothers.”
The recording appears to support long-standing suspicions that Gabon’s coup differed fundamentally from the wave of anti-French military takeovers in West Africa’s Sahel region, where young officers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have expelled French troops and severed colonial-era ties.
Critics have argued that, unlike revolutionary figures such as Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in 2022, or Niger’s military leaders who seized control in 2023, Nguema’s takeover preserved rather than challenged French influence.
The Bongo family had ruled Gabon for 56 years — first under Omar Bongo from 1967 to 2009, then under his son Ali Bongo until the 2023 coup. The dynasty’s longevity and close ties to Paris made Gabon a cornerstone of what critics call France’s neocolonial network in Africa.
The allegations come at a sensitive moment for French influence in Africa, as anti-French sentiment has surged across the continent. Macron’s government has struggled to maintain partnerships as former allies reassess relationships dating to the colonial era.
During his November visit, Macron was greeted by crowds performing traditional dances and chanting his name — a sharp contrast to the hostility French leaders face elsewhere on the continent.
Neither the French presidency nor Gabonese government officials have responded to requests for comment on the recording’s authenticity or contents.
The revelations raise questions about the motivations behind other recent power transitions in Francophone Africa and whether similar arrangements may have been negotiated elsewhere to preserve French interests while appearing to embrace change.
